You're a Loser
by greekfreak302
Summary: Annabeth Chase is many things, and loser isn't one of them. She called it the Loser Game. To see who the real loser was. Rated T for language. One-shot


**Disclaimer: PJO= not mine**

* * *

Loser. The hated name Annabeth Chase had been called thousands of times in her junior year alone. It wasn't that she hated it per say, but she wished the unoriginal bastards that called her Loser would come up with something better. Something more interesting.

She had even slipped a sheet of new insulting names to be called in one of her bullies' locker. It was a shame that all those names had to go to waste, probably disappearing in the sea of papers that overflowed the locker.

One of those uninspired jerks was Percy Jackson. He was different, sort of. He still laughed whenever one of his buddies messed with her, but lately she'd seen him hanging in the back of the crowd, drawing the least attention, and staring at her. Simply staring.

He was cheerleader/athlete-type popular in the school, but there was nothing significant about him, in her opinion. He was just_ there_, a simple boy that everyone fawned over for what? His looks? The fact that, in one summer, he managed to transition from that scrawny freshman to the athletic sophomore? Okay, his looks were one thing, but there was noting besides that. Percy and his army of harebrained idiots were as shallow as a kiddie pool.

Well, she couldn't know that for sure. She'd never actually_ talked_ to him. They had been in the same classes since middle school, but not once did she bother talking to him. And then, sophomore year, when he was finally started to make friends, he chose the crowd that targeted the ones who they felt were insignificant. And, unfortunately, that included Annabeth.

Well, yeah, he had said some things about her, but never to her face, unlike Octavian and his lackeys. But of all the things she'd heard him say, not once did he ever call her a loser. And she sort of respected that.

And, one day, that changed too. Annabeth didn't know why she even cared when he said it. She had been called loser so many times it was almost like a second name to her. She didn't mind, really. The hurtfulness of the name she had been dubbed had worn off long ago.

But, one day, after a annoyingly long class, the teacher told her to clear the board. Sighing, she shuffled to the front of the class, ignoring the crowd of students exiting. A few pulled her hair, shoving her into the board, but she gritted her teeth and grabbed the eraser.

When she noticed the bright yellow words behind dull white writing, she dropped the eraser and stared, her blood boiling. How had Mrs. Dodds missed that? Were they so fixated on getting a reaction out of her that they resorted to public humiliation?

"YOU'RE A LOSER"

Her face flushed red when she heard the laughing behind her. Drew Tanaka, another nobody who was popular simply because she was a slut and was dating the right person at the moment, held her phone up, cackling at Annabeth's expression. Octavian and Percy were there too, along with several other students, one of which was the editor of the school's gossip column, _The Dirt_.

"Smile for us, Loser Queen," Percy yelled. His eyes were unnervingly dark, as if he regretted what he was doing, yet his mouth told another story. Octavian clapped Percy on the back, and Annabeth knew exactly why he was doing this.

The were laughing, and Annabeth had to count backwards from 50 to calm her nerves. And then, she smiled, catching them all off guard. After the editor took a picture, Annabeth started clapping, and they all abruptly stopped. "This was all I asked for. An ounce of originality! My wish was finally granted. Thank you for your consideration of making a _Loser_ feel special." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

She wiped the board vigorously, and slammed the eraser down, caking herself with chalk dust, not even bothering with the places she missed. As she walked back down the row of chairs back to her bag, Percy handed it to her silently, their eyes meeting.

His eyes screamed 'I'm sorry' but she ignored it, walking out of the classroom with forced calm.

* * *

Her body tensed, but she relaxed quickly, not wanting him to know how much his presence bothered her. She opened her locker, thankful to have a wall between them. "Can I help you, Percy?"

He hesitated. "Well, you haven't talked to me in years, why start now?" Annabeth asked, narrowing her eyes at the inside of her locker. "I..."he hesitated. "I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Why, I'm not sure what you're talking about, Percy."

"This morning?" he asked desperately. Annabeth paused, her hand hovering above the textbook she was going to grab. She bit her lip. "I'm not mad, if that's what you're so anxious about, Percy."

His eyebrows knitted. "But I embarrassed you and-"

He stopped and stared at her with confusion when she rolled her eyes. "If you and your posse think you're actually _hurting_ me with the names, I can happily assure you you're wrong. So now you can sleep at night without worrying your pretty little head and leave me the hell alone."

His eyes went wide and then a ghost of a smile appeared on his face, irritating her. "I've hardly talked to you for a full five minutes and you're already the most badass person I've ever met."

"I think its a little late for compliments. Besides, aren't I the Loser Queen?" Annabeth muttered, and he hung his head, scratching his neck. "I didn't mean any of that. Octavian-"

"You're just trying to fit in; I get it. But next time you plan to be the new Messiah in your group, leave me out of it." She shut her locker, starting to walk away. "But...I have a question for you, Percy. If you're going out of your way to talk to a loser, what the hell does that make you?"

And she walked down the hall, feeling like a major badass.

* * *

"Why won't you leave me alone? Can't you get the hint; I don't fucking care you think I'm a loser or not." She didn't have to look up from her book to see he was smiling.

It was lunch, and as usual, she went to her empty table near the kitchen doors. And then he had come by, simply because he 'wanted to say hi' which she didn't believe. Especially considering the rest of his table were staring at them from across the cafeteria. So she could only assume his visit wasn't on good terms.

He glanced behind him, and bit his lip. "Look, just bear with me-"

"Sure." She set the book down, waiting. When he hesitated, she raised an eyebrow.

And then, next thing she knew, she had salad dressing in her hair, spinach on her shoulders, and mini tomatoes in her lap. Face flushed, she slammed her hands on the table and stood up to face him. Although he had a full seven inches over her, she glared up at him, her eyes blazing

"Why are you even trying to talk to me?!You're such a fucking loser!" He yelled loud enough to turn almost every head in the cafeteria. For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. Percy's "friends" were still watching, some of the grinning in approval, and Octavian watched closely with his arms crossed. He wasn't convinced.

She met Percy's eyes, and she almost laughed at how pathetic he looked. "Fine. I'll play along too." she muttered.

"I see you've set aside this specific time to humiliate yourself in public. That's a great observation, really; now why don't you skip along and tell that to someone who actually gives a fuck, dipshit?" Flicking a piece of spinach out of her hair, she grabbed her bag and turned sharply at her heel, ignoring some students laughing or saying rude stuff about her.

"You gonna take that Perce?" Someone yelled.

She stopped, and held up her middle finger for everyone see.

* * *

"This is your fault, Jackson." He stayed quiet, glancing up at the clock.

Detention. Some prick told a teacher about what happened at lunch and landed both of them two days after school in detention. The room was semi-empty, only the two of them and a few regulars. Percy seemed to be a regular too; he even chatted with the Latino boy named Leo in the back of the room before Mrs. Dodds had him moved next to Annabeth.

"Why do you even hang out with those-"

"Losers?" He asked, an eyebrow raised and an annoying smug sideways smile. She huffed in frustration "Why won't you leave me alone? I mean, one day you barely know I exist and the next you're stuck to me like glue?"

Mrs Dodds looked up from her book to give the two of them a murderous look. Percy shifted to the side and spoke out of the side of his mouth. "My mom raised me like a gentleman. I can't make fun of someone I hardly know."

Annabeth scoffed. "Oh, so it's okay to make fun of someone you_ already know_? Doesn't that just make it worse?"

"You're a loser." He said bluntly, inspecting his nails.

She spoke without even really thinking. "If I'm a loser, I'd hate to know what the hell you are." Percy smiled, his bright sea green eyes shining. "See? I know you don't mean it 'cause you know me."

"Really? You've been calling me a loser all day and I'm just supposed to say 'Oh, he's just kidding because he's my best bud'? I don't care who you are; call me names and you're automatically on my hit list."

* * *

Annabeth found that she had been more of a target than usual in the past few days. Most of the time, it was Percy leading the assaults, speaking like it was some inside joke between him and Annabeth. She didn't know if it was some kind of hazing for him, but she didn't want to be in the middle of it. It needed to stop.

Eventually, she found that she was actually kind of looking forward to their encounters. After the attack Percy would hang in the back of the crowd, apologizing. So, for his sake, she played along, as if being called a loser for the zillionth and first time finally had a huge impact on her.

And soon, the 'Loser game' as she'd named it, had become all that she thought about lately. She'd even gone so far as to think up comebacks for being called a loser. She wanted to know who really was the loser in this situation.

Annabeth liked to think that this was more of a precautionary self defense than actually participating for Percy's sake. If they really _were_ friends, she'd tell him how stupid it was trying to get Octavian's approval.

She had no idea why people found him 'cool'. He was a beanpole, so skinny and skin so pale he looked sickly. His eyes were somewhat hollow and gaunt, a disturbing glassy blue that made her suspect he was on drugs. And, his strawlike blonde hair had been falling out, so he shaved most of it down in a stupid design that made half of the guys in their grade show up the next day with the same hairstyle. She knew his secrets; he had a fucking _eating disorder_ and drank vodka in a water bottle during class. But she wasn't like him; if he didn't want to say anything and continue being the fraud he is, she had to respect that.

And one day- she had no idea what kind of suicidal spirit came over her- she followed Octavian and Drew to the parking lot.

Before she lost her nerve, she shoved him. "Hey!"

He turned. "What the hell is your problem, nerd?" He asked. Annabeth actually smiled. Finally something different! It was refreshing. And while she stopped, smiling like an idiot, the two seniors looked at her as if she were a freak.

And then, he realized who she was and laughed in disbelief. "Do you have a death wish, loser queen?"

"No, I _wish_ you self-absorbed, imbelilic assholes realize how much I don't care what the hell you think." She said. Drew laughed. "And you followed us out here just to say that? Wow, you're even more of a loser than I thought."

Annabeth bit her lip. Why did she go through with this?

Drew mocked her, sticking her lip out. "Am I hurting your feelings little Loser girl? Why don't you run back to your faithful subjects of losers ad cry to them?" They used to be friends. Drew was the one who was always left behind, the awkward girl standing in the corner. One summer she discovered makeup and got her braces removed, returning to eighth grade as an Asian bombshell, bitter and mean.

"I just-" she cursed her voice for sounded unsure, and no doubt Drew noticed. "Why are you messing with Percy?" The question was directed at Octavian, but Drew answered. "Why do you care?"

"I don-"

"Percy is our entertainment. Don't worry; we'll be dumping your boyfriend by the end of the month. _After_ I sleep with him of course." And she smiled, showing off pearly white teeth that used to be crooked and yellowed.

Annabeth's mouth opened in disbelief, but Octavian looked disinterested in the conversation as if they weren't worth his time. He didn't seem to care what Drew did, as long as it didn't interfere with his reputation. He could care less that people called his girl a whore behind his back.

Wrapping a scrawny arm around Drew's waist, Octavian lit a cigarette with his other arm. "Later loser," He mumbled, turning and walking away. Drew cast a glance over his shoulder, narrowing her eyes.

* * *

The rest of the week kind of went like this:

"You're a loser."

"Pardon me, but I think you're mistaken with someone who gives a damn."

or

"You're a loser."

"...It sounds a bit like bullshit, but I can't understand a word you're saying."

Or something along those lines. Annabeth and Percy had gotten in a fight; he didn't believe her when she tried to tell him about how they weren't his friends. He accused her of being jealous, reminding her how she had said they were 'enemies' and nothing close to friends, and they both said hurtful things neither of them meant.

So maybe he did actually mean it when he called her a loser now. It just made the Loser game that much serious.

So maybe Annabeth was wrong; Percy was different from the rest of the crowd. She regretted pushing him away when they first met. And now he hated her. She only tried to help and only succeeded in pushing him further into the crowd.

"Hey Loser."

Annabeth wrenched her eyes closed and turned, closing her locker. Opening her eyes, she expected to see a crowd, accompanied by their ring leader, but was pleasantly surprised when her eyes met with sea green orbs with little blue flecks.

"Percy?" she asked uncertainly. He gave her a shy smile, one that told her he knew he was wrong. She nodded, and his eyes visibly brightened. "Do you, uh, wanna take a walk?" He asked. She glanced back at the classroom across the hall, where she had a major test next period.

"Right." He scratched the back of his neck. "I forgot you were such a Wise Girl."

She raised an eyebrow. "New nickname, Seaweed Brain?" So that was it? They'd pretend as if the 'Loser War' never happened?

She bit her lip. "Um, I can take the test later. Mrs. White owes me a favor anyways." He smiled.

*****seventeen minutes later******

He knew. All this time he knew they weren't really his friends. He knew they didn't care, but he hung out with them anyways because he could finally know what popularity tastes like. Bitter, he said.

"I guess that makes me a loser, huh?" He sat down in a swing, looking at their school across the street from the park they were in. Annabeth sat next to him, nodding. "...Yeah. I'm the Loser Queen, so therefore I get to choose who's a loser and who isn't. You're definitely a loser. But they're way beyond losers; they're assholes, the worst type there is." She smiled, grabbing his hand and squeezing reassuringly.

He looked at her, eyebrows furrowed, as if he were trying to make a decision. "Do you wanna go on a date with me, Annabeth?"

She feigned surprise and gasped. "You? Percy Jackson wants to go on a date with the Loser Queen? Why-"

"You're not a loser, Annabeth." He said seriously, his intensity throwing her off guard. And then he smiled that awkward slanted smile that seemed to be his trademark. "Badass, yes, but definitely not a loser."

She tried to hide the blush that was forming on her face. "Yes, I'll go on a date with you. You're such a loser." Percy laughed and kissed her on the cheek.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Okay, I'm sorry if I offended anyone in the making of this one-shot. Especially the parts about Octavian. **

**I really like badass Annabeth. She was kind of tough yet still girly; but I feel like I didn't develop the character enough. And, I think this one-shot kinda sucks. **

**Let me tell you a short tale: there was a girl, let's call her Greekfreak302, who was one of the only students in her class who got straight A's on her report card. A few jealous kids, let's call them popular idiots, called her a loser because she actually somewhat likes school and _somewhat_ studies. Greekfreak302, angry (not to be confused with hurt) went home from school that day and logged into fanfiction. Not feeling like updating her other stories, she started a new one, and _You're a Loser_ came to be. **

**Ha, I wish it was that interesting. I was playing around with Photoshop and created a chalkboard background and remembered when I was called a loser because I was a major fangirl. Because I'm such a total dork, I remember the sheet of comebacks I came up with (Most of them too vulgar to be put in a rated T fanfiction) and put some of them here. The ones that didn't make it couldn't be fitted in with the plot.**

**Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought about the one-shot!**

**The end was kind of crap, and I wanted something better, but I was kind of rushed ( I have somewhere to go but I wanted to post this now)**

**Read my other stories and I'll love you forever!**

**~Greekfreak302**


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